Communication apparatus and control method thereof

ABSTRACT

A communication apparatus includes a discrimination unit which discriminates the current communication mode and a changing unit which changes a time out value for communication in accordance with the communication mode.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a communication apparatus to be usedfor an image capture apparatus such as a digital camera and a digitalvideo camera, a computer, and a peripheral equipments or the like and acontrol method thereof.

2. Description of the Related Art

Conventionally, in a communication apparatus for communicating in aplurality of communication systems, a communication control forsemi-automatically deciding a plurality of communication systems byselecting a system for communication desired by a user upon start ofcommunication or setting a priority order of a communication system inadvance has been known.

There is a technology to broadcast an address request message from aterminal having a plurality of address acquisition functions when itenter a network and decide an address acquisition system hereinafterdepending on the content of response and presence or absence of aresponse within a certain time (the longest response time when all ofsecure nodes in a sub net are connecting to the network), proposed inJapanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-258878 (refer toparagraphs 0055 to 0057, and FIG. 11, for example).

Further, according to Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.H11-55318 (refer to paragraphs 0016 to 0020, and FIGS. 1 to 3, forexample), when the communication apparatus is connected to aninfrastructure network which is a communication system of a wireless LANand an AD hoc network while moving between them, the processingcorresponding to the connected network is carried out by unifying aprocessing procedures for connection to the infrastructure network andconnection to the AD hoc network in the infrastructure managementprocessing, the connected network identification processing, and thedestination address acquisition processing and discriminating a networkto which the terminal is independently connected for each processing.

However, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-258878, thelongest response time when all of secure nodes in a sub net areconnecting to the network is defined as a time out value and an addressacquisition system is decided depending on the content of response andpresence or absence of a response within the time out value. Therefore,even in the case that there is no possibility that an address server islocated in a network such as an AD hoc network, the processingcorresponding to this longest response time is carried out, so that aresponsibility is lowered and the operability of a user is also lowered.

In addition, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-55318, theprocessing procedure is changed by discriminating whether the network towhich the terminal is connected independently for each processing is theinfrastructure network or the AD hoc network, and the processing load toidentify the connection network for each processing is increased.

Further, since the discrimination of the connected network is carriedout also by receiving a message and determining that the message isequivalent to the network address to which the terminal is connected,there is a possibility that the responsiveness is lowered.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is to overcome the above-described drawbacks. Forexample, according to the present invention, a time out value can bechanged in accordance with various communication modes.

According to an aspect of the present invention, a communicationapparatus of the present invention includes a discrimination unitadapted to discriminate the current communication mode; and a changingunit adapted to change a time out value for communication in accordancewith the communication mode.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a controllingmethod of the present invention, of controlling a communicationapparatus comprises a discrimination step of discriminating the currentcommunication mode; and a changing step of changing a time out value forcommunication in accordance with the communication mode.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will be apparentfrom the following description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate thesame or similar parts throughout the figures thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute apart of the specification, illustrate an embodiment of the presentinvention and, together with the description, serve to explain theprinciples of the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a structure of a communicationapparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 2A and 2B are a view showing a communication structure accordingto the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 3A and 3B are a list of a time out value according to the firstembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is an operational flow chart of the communication controlaccording to the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 5A and 5B are a view showing a communication structure accordingto a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 6A and 6B are a list of a time out value according to the secondembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is an operational flow chart of the communication controlaccording to the second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a view showing a communication structure according to a thirdembodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 9A and 9B are a list of a time out value according to the thirdembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is an operational flow chart of the communication controlaccording to the third embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 11A and 11B are views showing a communication structure accordingto a fourth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a list of a time out value according to the fourth embodimentof the present invention; and

FIG. 13 is an operational flow chart of the communication controlaccording to the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail belowwith reference to the drawings.

First Embodiment

A communication apparatus to which a communication control programaccording to a first embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS.1 to 4 is applied will be described below. FIG. 1 is a block diagramshowing the structure of a communication apparatus 200. In FIG. 1, areference numeral 201 denotes a communication unit, which is providedwith a communication function and communicates to other equipments; areference numeral 202 denotes a communication mode detection unit fordetecting a current communication mode of the communication apparatus200; a reference numeral 204 denotes a memory for storing time out valuelists 301, 302 (to be described later), a default value and a settingvalue or the like in the communication control, and a communicationcontrol program according to the present embodiment; a reference numeral205 denotes an operation unit for setting a communication mode andsetting and changing a time out value; and a reference numeral 206denotes a display unit for displaying the setting information or thelike of the communication mode and the time out value. Further, areference numeral 203 denotes a control unit for discriminating acommunication mode on the basis of a detection signal from thecommunication mode detection unit 202, reading the time out valuecorresponding to the detection from the memory 204, and outputting acommunication control signal to the communication unit 201.

In the meantime, this communication apparatus is applied as acommunication apparatus that is mounted on, for example, an imagecapture apparatus such as a digital camera and a digital video camera, acomputer, and a peripheral equipments or the like. In addition, thecommunication control program according to the present embodiment may beinstalled on the existing communication apparatus that is mounted on theimage capture apparatus and the computer and this communication controlprogram is applicable to the communication apparatus which is integrallyor detachably mounted on the image capture apparatus and the computer.Accordingly, the present communication control program can be applied toa device provided even with a communication function, and the operationunit 205 and the display unit 206 may be configured by the operationunit and the display unit to be mounted on the image capture apparatus,the computer, and the peripheral equipments or the like.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are network block diagrams of the communicationapparatus 200 according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2A shows aninfrastructure mode 110 in a wireless LAN. In this infrastructure mode110, an image capture apparatus 101, a printer 102, and a computer 103are wirelessly connected via an access point 105, and a computer 104forms a local area network of a wired connection via an access point 105and a router 106. This access point 105 not only plays a roll as theconnection point when the computer 104 is connected to Internet but alsois a connection point to be relayed when the computer 104 is wirelesslyconnected to the network (LAN) or the like.

On the other hand, FIG. 2B shows an AD hoc mode 120 in the wireless LANand the image capture apparatus 101, and the printer 102 are directlywireless-connected without the access point 105 to form an AD hocnetwork.

FIGS. 3A and 3B show time out value lists 301 and 302 according to thepresent embodiment, which are stored in the memory 204. The time outvalue 301 of addressing, whereby the image capture apparatus 101acquires and sets an IP address of itself, and the search time out value302 for retrieving the peripheral equipments and the peripheral servicesare set for each communication mode, namely, for each infrastructuremode 110 and each AD hoc mode 120.

Here, the time out value means a time of compulsorily terminating theoperation of the system regardless of normal or error in order toprevent the entire system from being stopped in the case that a buscycle and a command request are not completed over a specified time.

Next, the specific operation of the present embodiment will be describedbelow. FIG. 4 is an operational flow chart of the communication controlaccording to the present embodiment.

As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the image capture apparatus 101 can performcommunication in the infrastructure mode 110 and the AD hoc mode 120 asa plurality of communication modes, and in the infrastructure mode 110of FIG. 2A, the router 106 has a function of a DHCP server to manage theaddresses of the image capture apparatus 101, the printer 102, and thecomputers 103 and 104 within the network. In the AD hoc mode 120 of FIG.2B, the image capture apparatus 101 and the printer 102 have no functionof the DHCP server.

In the image capture apparatus 101, at first, upon powering on from theoperation unit 205 (S401) and starting up the wireless LAN (S402), theimage capture apparatus 101 may establish a connection (a communicationpath) of a communication level (a wireless LAN level) via thecommunication unit 201 (S403).

In the meantime, this establishment of the communication connection canbe determined, for example, when connection has been established at asession layer in a model layer of a communication protocol, however,practically, establishment of the communication connection may bedetermined when the communicable condition is made by the communicationunit 201 and the image capture apparatus 101 can shift to the processingto be described later in accordance with various communication standardson the basis of arbitrary criterion of judgment.

Then, the control unit 203 may carry out the processing on the basis ofa step of the communication control program read out from the memory204. At first, the control unit 203 outputs a communication modedetection signal to the communication mode detection unit 202. Thecommunication mode detection unit 202 detects a communication mode fromthe communication unit 201, outputs the information with respect to thiscommunication mode to the control unit 203, and discriminates thecommunication mode (S404).

Storing the operational condition of the communication unit 201 as theinformation with respect to this communication mode for eachcommunication mode, the control unit 203 outputs a flag or the likecorresponding to this communication mode and directly detecting acondition of the communication unit 201 (for example, the condition, thestandard, and the system or the like of a chip to be mounted on thecommunication circuit configuring the wireless LAN), it discriminates ifthe communication mode is the infrastructure mode 110 or the AD hoc mode120.

In the discrimination of the communication mode, if the communicationmode is discriminated to be the AD hoc mode 120 (S405), the control unit203 reads out the time out value for the AD hoc mode 120 from the timeout value lists 301 and 302 stored in the memory 204 (S406), and usingthis value, it executes the addressing processing (S408).

In this time, as shown in FIG. 3A, since the time out value ofaddressing at the AD hoc mode 120 is set at DHCP: 2 sec×1, Auto IP: 2sec on the time out value list 301 and there is no DHCP server in the ADhoc network, after 2 sec of the addressing by DHCP becomes time out,Auto IP is executed for 2 sec, and the IP address of the image captureapparatus 101 is decided.

After that, the search processing is carried out (S409), however, asshown in FIG. 3B, the search time out value at the AD hoc mode 120 isset at 3 sec on the time out value list 302, so that, after transmissionof the search message, a search response takes three seconds.

In the step 405, when the communication mode is discriminated to be theinfrastructure mode 110, in the same way, reading out the time out valuefor the infrastructure mode 110 from the time out value lists 301 and302 stored in the memory 204 (S407) and using this value, the addressingprocessing is then carried out (S408). In this time, since the time outvalue at the infrastructure mode 110 is set at DHCP: 6 sec×4, Auto IP: 2sec on the time out value list 301 and there is a DHCP server in therouter 106 of the infrastructure network, the IP address of the imagecapture apparatus 101 is decided due to the addressing by the DHCP.

Then, executing the search processing (S409), the search time out valueof the infrastructure mode 110 is set at 5 sec on the time out valuelist 302, so that, after transmission of the search message, a searchresponse takes five seconds.

Accordingly, according to the conventional communication control, forexample, when the time out value at the infrastructure mode is set as acommon time out value, there is no problem in the case of communicationin the infrastructure mode, while when the communication is made in theAD hoc mode without the DHCP server 24 seconds (6 sec×4) is spent forthe addressing by the DHCP server and finally, the IP address of thelocal apparatus itself is decided by the Auto IP, thereby resulting inspending 26 seconds in total. According to the present embodiment, bydiscriminating the current communication modes of the image captureapparatus 101, the printer 102, and the computers 103 and 104, andselecting the optimum time out value for this communication mode, thecurrent time out value is changed into this optimum time out value.

Therefore, in the case that there is the DHCP server in the network atthe infrastructure mode, the IP address of the local apparatus itself isdecided for about six seconds, so that it is possible to immediatelystart the optimum communication for a network formation to be used and aprocessing waiting time for the user can be made shorter.

In addition, according to the conventional communication control, insearching of the peripheral equipment and the service, even if it seemsthat not so many devices are located in the same network as the AD hocmode, a search response takes five seconds. As a result, aresponsibility is lowered and the operability of the user is alsolowered. However, according to the present embodiment, the searchresponse takes about three seconds in the AD hoc mode, so that theoperability of the user can be improved as same as the infrastructuremode.

Further, according to the conventional communication control, forexample, when the time out value at the AD hoc mode is set as a commontime out value, there is no problem in the case of communication in theAD hoc mode, while when the communication is made in the infrastructuremode, since the time out value of the addressing by the DHC server is 2sec, the appropriate processing with respect to the DHCP server cannotbe executed and it is feared that the user cannot correctly enter thenetwork. In addition, in searching of the peripheral equipment and theservice, even if it seems that many devices are located in the samenetwork as the infrastructure mode, the search response takes threeseconds. As a result, desired device and service may not be detected.

However, according to the communication control of the presentembodiment, even in searching of the peripheral equipment and theservice, it is possible to search them in accordance with the number ofperipheral equipments to be subjected to search. Since the communicationmode (the connected network) to which the image capture apparatus 101 isconnected is discriminated from the information included in itself, theuser can carry out the processing at a high speed.

In the meantime, this time out value list may be set in advance uponshipment of the image capture apparatus 101, or the user himself orherself can set this time out value list in accordance with the usingcondition, or this time out value list may be also available for varioustime out values other than the time out value of the addressing and thetime out value of the peripheral equipments and the service.

Second Embodiment

FIGS. 5A and 5B are views showing a communication structure of acommunication apparatus 200 according to the second embodiment of thepresent invention. In the meantime, since the communication apparatus200 has the same structure as the above-described first embodiment, itsexplanation is herein omitted.

According to the present embodiment, in a wired LAN mode 510, an imagecapture apparatus 501 shown in FIG. 5A is connected to a router 506 witha wire (Ethernet: registered trademark) to carry out communication, andin a wireless LAN mode 520, an image capture apparatus 501 shown in FIG.5B is connected to the router 506 by the wireless LAN via an accesspoint 505.

FIGS. 6A and 6B show time out value lists 601 and 602 that are used inthe present embodiment and a time out value 601 of the addressing,whereby the image capture apparatus 501 acquires and sets the IP addressof itself, and a search time out value 602, whereby the image captureapparatus 501 retrieves the peripheral equipments and the peripheralservice, is set for each communication mode, namely, for each wired LANmode 510 and for each wireless LAN mode 520.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart of the present embodiment. The specificprocessing and operation of the present embodiment will be describedbelow.

As shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the image capture apparatus 501 can performthe communication in the wired LAN mode 510 and the wireless LAN mode520 as the communication mode. In each communication mode, the router506 has a function of the DHCP server to manage the addresses of theimage capture apparatus 501, the printer 503, and the computers 502 and504 within the network.

At first, when electricity is powered on from the operation unit 205 inthe image capture apparatus 501 (S701), the wireless (wire) LAN isstarted up (S702), and the image capture apparatus 501 establishes aconnection of a communication level via the communication unit 201(S703).

Then, the control unit 203 carries out the processing on the basis of astep of the communication control program read out from the memory 204.At first, the control unit 203 outputs a communication mode detectionsignal to the communication mode detection unit 202. The communicationmode detection unit 202 detects a communication mode from thecommunication unit 201, outputs the information with respect to thiscommunication mode to the control unit 203, and discriminates thecommunication mode (S704).

According to the discrimination processing of the communication mode inthis step 704, the communication mode detection unit 202 detects acondition of a network driver of the image capture apparatus 501 itselfand discriminates if the communication mode is the wired LAN mode 510 orthe wireless LAN mode 520.

In the discrimination of the communication mode, if the communicationmode is discriminated to be the wired LAN 510 (S705), the control unit203 reads out the time out value for the wired LAN 510 from the time outvalue lists 601 and 602 stored in the memory 204 (S706), and using thisvalue, it executes the addressing processing (S708). In this time, thetime out value of addressing at the wired LAN mode 510 is set at DHCP: 6sec×3, Auto IP: 2 sec on the time out value list 601 and the IP addressof the image capture apparatus 501 is decided by the addressing due tothe DHCP with respect to the router 506.

After that, carrying out the search processing (S709), the search timeout value at the wired LAN mode 510 is set at 4 sec on the time outvalue list 602, so that, after transmission of the search message, asearch response takes four seconds.

In the discrimination of the communication mode in the step 705, whenthe communication mode is discriminated to be the wireless LAN mode 520,in the same way, the time out value for the wireless LAN mode 520 isread out from the time out value lists 601 and 602 stored in the memory204 (S707), and using this value, the addressing processing is carriedout (S708). In this time, since the time out value at the wireless LANmode 520 is set at DHCP: 6 sec×4, Auto IP: 2 sec on the time out valuelist 601, the IP address of the terminal 501 is decided due to theaddressing by the DHCP with respect to the router 506. After that,carrying out the search processing (S709), the search time out value inthe wireless LAN mode 520 is set at 5 sec on the time out value list602, so that, after transmission of the search message, a searchresponse takes five seconds.

Thus, according to the present embodiment, each of the image captureapparatus 501, the printer 503, and the computers 502 and 504discriminate the present communication mode, and by changing the timeout value between a wired network (Ethernet) and the wireless LAN (WLAN)of which transfer rate and reliability of communication are low ascompared to the wired network, the addressing and the search suited tothe usage format (the communication format) of the image captureapparatus 501, the printer 503, and the computers 502 and 504 or thelike can be realized and this results in improvement of the convenienceof the user. Other operations and advantages are the same as theabove-described embodiment 1.

Third Embodiment

FIG. 8 is a view showing a communication structure of a communicationapparatus 800 according to the third embodiment of the presentinvention. In FIG. 8, an image capture apparatus 801 is connected to arouter 806 via an access point 805 to perform communication and has a 11Mbps mode, a 5.5 Mbps mode, a 2 Mbps mode, and a 1 Mbps mode for eachlink level of the wireless LAN, namely, for each transmission rate (atransmission speed), respectively. In the meantime, since thecommunication apparatus according to the present embodiment has the samestructure as the above-described first embodiment, its explanation isherein omitted.

FIGS. 9A and 9B show time out value lists 901 and 902 to be used for thepresent embodiment and a time out value 901 of the addressing, wherebythe image capture apparatus 801 acquires and sets the IP address ofitself, and a search time out value 902, whereby the image captureapparatus 801 retrieves the peripheral equipments and the peripheralservice, is set for each communication mode.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart of the present embodiment. The specificprocessing and operation of the present embodiment will be describedbelow.

As shown in FIG. 8, the image capture apparatus 801 can perform thecommunication in the 11 Mbps mode, the 5.5 Mbps mode, the 2 Mbps mode,and the 1 Mbps mode as a plurality of communication modes. In eachcommunication mode, the router 806 has a function of the DHCP server tomanage the addresses of the image capture apparatus 801, the printer802, and the computers 803 and 804 within the network.

When electricity is powered on from the operation unit 205 in the imagecapture apparatus 801 (S1001), the wireless LAN is started up (S1002),and the image capture apparatus 801 establishes a connection of acommunication level via the communication unit 201 (S1003) so as todiscriminate the communication mode (S1004).

According to the discrimination processing of the communication mode inthis step 1004, the communication mode detection unit 202 detects thecommunication condition of the image capture apparatus 801 itself (thechip condition of the wireless LAN or the like) and discriminates if thecommunication mode is the 11 Mbps mode, the 5.5 Mbps mode, the 2 Mbpsmode, or the 1 Mbps mode.

In the discrimination of the communication mode, if the communicationmode is discriminated to be the 11 Mbps mode (S1004), the control unit203 reads out the time out value for the 11 Mbps mode from the time outvalue lists 901 and 902 stored in the memory 204 (S1006), and using thisvalue, it executes the addressing processing (S1010). In this time, thetime out value of addressing at the 11 Mbps mode is set at DHCP: 6sec×4, Auto IP: 2 sec on the time out value list 901 and the IP addressof the image capture apparatus 801 is decided by the addressing due tothe DHCP with respect to the router 806.

After that, carrying out the search processing (S1011), the search timeout value at the 11 Mbps mode is set at 5 sec on the time out value list902, so that, after transmission of the search message, a searchresponse takes five seconds.

In the discrimination of the communication mode in the step 1005, whenthe communication mode is discriminated to be the 5.5 Mbps mode, thetime out value for the 5.5 Mbps mode is read out from the time out valuelists 901 and 902 stored in the memory 204 (S1007), and using thisvalue, the addressing processing is carried out (S1010). In this time,since the time out value at the 5.5 Mbps mode is set at DHCP: 7 sec×4,Auto IP: 2 sec on the time out value list 901, the IP address of theimage capture apparatus 801 is decided due to the addressing by the DHCPwith respect to the router 806.

After that, carrying out the search processing (S1011), the search timeout value in the 5.5 Mbps mode is set at 6 sec on the time out valuelist 902, so that, after transmission of the search message, a searchresponse takes six seconds.

As same as the above, also in each of the 2 Mbps mode and the 1 Mbpsmode, the time out value of each mode is read out from the time outvalue lists 901 and 902 (S1008, S1009), the addressing and the searchare carried out at each setting value.

Thus, according to the present embodiment, the image capture apparatus801 discriminates the present communication mode, and by changing thetime out value for each transmission rate, the addressing and the searchtaking into consideration delay due to the current communication ratecan be realized and this results in improvement of the convenience ofthe user. Other operations and advantages are the same as theabove-described embodiment 1.

Fourth Embodiment

FIGS. 11A and 11B show a communication structure according to the fourthembodiment of the present invention. In FIGS. 11A and 11B, an imagecapture apparatus 1101 forms a wireless LAN network via an access point1100, and show the case that the number of connectable terminals at theaccess point 1100 is small (Case 1 mode 1110) and the case that thenumber thereof is large (Case 2 mode 1120).

Since the communication apparatus according to the present embodimenthas the same structure as the above-described communication apparatus200 shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B of the first embodiment, its explanation isherein omitted.

FIG. 12 shows a time out value list 1201 to be used for the presentembodiment, and in FIG. 12, a default value is set as a reference fordetermining a search time out value when a terminal 1101 retrieves theperipheral equipments and the peripheral service and if the number ofconnectable terminals at the access point 1100 is large or small.

FIG. 13 is a flow chart of the present embodiment. The specificprocessing and operation of the present embodiment will be describedbelow.

As shown in FIGS. 11A and 11B, the access point 1100 always manages thenumber of terminals to establish communications and has a function tosend the number of connectable terminals in response to the inquiryprocessing of the number of connectable terminals by terminals 1101 to1108.

When electricity is powered on from the operation unit 205 in the imagecapture apparatus 1101 (S1301), the wireless LAN is started up (S1302),and the image capture apparatus 1101 establishes a connection of acommunication level (a wireless LAN level) via the communication unit201 (S1303) so as to execute the addressing processing (S1304). In themeantime, this addressing processing may be realized by any processingamong the above-described embodiments and other processing method isalso applicable.

Then, the image capture apparatus 1101 inquires the number of terminalsof the access point 1100 (S1305) and waits for the response from theaccess point 1100 (S1306). Receiving the response from the access point1100, the image capture apparatus 1101 executes the determinationprocessing of the number of connectable terminals by using the defaultvalue stored in a time out value list 1201 (S1307).

In the Case 1 mode 1110 in FIG. 11A, if the number of connectableterminals at the access point 1100 is less than or equal to the defaultvalue, the setting value 3 sec for the case that the number ofconnectable terminals is less than or equal to the default value is readout from the time out value list 1201, and the image capture apparatus1101 executes the search processing (S1311).

In addition, in the case that the number of connectable terminals at theaccess point 1100 is greater than the default value in the Case 2 mode1120 shown in FIG. 11B, or in the case that there is no response fromthe access point 1100, the image capture apparatus 1101 reads out thesetting value 5 sec greater than the reference value from the time outvalue list 1201 to execute the search processing (S1311).

Thus, according to the present embodiment, by inquiring the number ofthe current contactable terminals at the access point and changing thetime out value on the basis of the number of terminals, it is possibleto realize the search while grasping the current condition of thenetwork in detail. This results in improvement of convenience of theuser and realizing of the same operation and advantage as theabove-described first embodiment.

In the meantime, for example, the default value shown in FIG. 12 may beset based on the estimated traffic amount in the number of connectableterminals forming the network and the reference value can be setarbitrarily on the basis of the network.

As described above, according to the above-described embodiments, ineach of the communication modes such as performing the communication viathe access point or not; the wired communication or the wirelesscommunication; the condition of the information transmission rate; andthe number of the devices capable of communication, the time out valueis changed. However, the combination of these communication modes isalso possible, and by adding the processing of newly making the time outvalue list in accordance with the communication of these communicationmodes or setting the time out value by the user, it is possible to setthe optimum time out values for various communication modes.

In addition, the communication mode is not limited to theabove-described embodiments. For example, upon exchanging of the filesbetween the devices, the time out value may be changed in thecommunication mode of giving a priority to an image quality or a speed,and it is also possible to change the time out value in accordance withthe communication system and the performances of the image captureapparatus and the computer.

The above-described embodiments are merely exemplary of the presentinvention, and are not be construed to limit the scope of the presentinvention.

The scope of the present invention is defined by the scope of theappended claims, and is not limited to only the specific descriptions inthis specification. Furthermore, all modifications and changes belongingto equivalents of the claims are considered to fall within the scope ofthe present invention.

This application claims priority from Japanese Patent Application No.2004-269527 filed Sep. 16, 2004, which is hereby incorporated byreference herein.

1. A communication apparatus, comprising: a discrimination unit adaptedto discriminate the current communication mode; and a changing unitadapted to change a time out value for communication in accordance withthe communication mode.
 2. The communication apparatus according toclaim 1, further comprising a memory adapted to store the timing outvalue.
 3. The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein thecommunication mode includes a first communication mode for performingcommunication via an access point and a second communication mode forperforming communication without via an access point.
 4. Thecommunication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the communicationmode includes a wired communication mode and a wireless communicationmode.
 5. The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein thecommunication mode includes a first communication mode for performingcommunication at a first rate and a second communication mode forperforming communication at a second rate different from the first rate.6. The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein thecommunication mode includes a first communication mode in which thenumber of communicable device is less than or equal to a predeterminedvalue and a second communication mode in which the number ofcommunicable device is greater than a predetermined value.
 7. Thecommunication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the communicationapparatus is usable for an image capture apparatus such as a digitalcamera and a digital video camera.
 8. A controlling method ofcontrolling a communication apparatus, comprising: a discrimination stepof discriminating the current communication mode; and a changing step ofchanging a time out value for communication in accordance with thecommunication mode.
 9. The controlling method according to claim 8,wherein the communication apparatus has a memory adapted to store thetiming out value.
 10. The controlling method according to claim 8,wherein the communication mode includes a first communication mode forperforming communication via an access point and a second communicationmode for performing communication without via the access point.
 11. Thecontrolling method according to claim 8, wherein the communication modeincludes a wired communication mode and a wireless communication mode.12. The controlling method according to claim 8, wherein thecommunication mode includes a first communication mode for performingcommunication at a first rate and a second communication mode forperforming communication at a second rate different from the first rate.13. The controlling method according to claim 8, wherein thecommunication mode includes a first communication mode in which thenumber of communicable device is less than or equal to a predeterminedvalue and a second communication mode in which the number ofcommunicable device is greater than the predetermined value.
 14. Thecontrolling method according to claim 8, wherein the communicationapparatus is usable for an image capture apparatus such as a digitalcamera and a digital video camera.